“fashionable to advance the cause of the
female gender.”
Gender neutral corner
A bakery in York has faced a backlash
after a customer spotted “gingerbread
persons” on sale in its shop. However,
the owners of Thomas the Baker have
pointed out that it is not a recent
decision. “Sorry to disappoint you all,”
they said, adding that the biscuits, “have
been Ginger Persons since 1983!” The
baker continued, “We did get a
complaint from trading standards in the
80s that we were discriminating against
ginger haired people - seriously!!”
But Thomas the Baker is not alone. JL
Bean in Cleveleys near Blackpool
decided to make their biscuits gender
neutral last year, and Safeway made the
decision years before, and even
introduced male and female clothing for
their gingerbread.
Meanwhile, the BBC has sparked outrage
after it referred to “snowpeople” in a
children’s programme. Kids were told
during Catie’s Amazing Machines, “Snow
is amazing. You get to build snowpeople
and go sledging.” Viewers hit social
media with comments including, “PC
garbage and indoctrination,” “Seriously?
Two balls of snow and a carrot have a
gender?" and “Another reason to abolish
the licence fee.”
Last winter on breakfast telly, Piers
Morgan mocked the term when he
signed off saying, “Right, I’m off to build
a non-binary gender fluid snowperson.”
And it’s not just one’s gender. A 69-year-
old Dutchman who identifies as a man
more than 20 years younger is
campaigning to have his date of birth
changed. Emile Ratelband claims his
doctor has told him he has the body of a
man in his forties and he is now suing
his local authority after it refused to
amend his birth date. Emile, says that, if
transgender people are allowed to
change sex, he should be allowed to
change his date of birth and has cited
reasons. These include being able to get
more work, as well as attracting more
women on Tinder.
Appearing on UK Breakfast TV last
month, Emile said his biological age is
45, and changing his birth date would
cost the Netherlands government
nothing because he would continue
paying pension contributions for
another 20 years. He also claims that he
is discriminated against on a daily basis
because of his age. Mr Ratelband’s case
has gone to a court in the city of
29
Arnhmen in the eastern Dutch province
of Gelderland.
Children’s favourites
Back in the day, children used collect
pocket money for a rainy day. Most had
money boxes to store sixpences and
three penny bits, and even the odd florin
or half-crown. However, one of the
favourite money boxes of that era has
become the latest target for the PC
brigade who seem to be unable to
distinguish between “historically
interesting” and “offensive.”
A shop called Memories Antiques in
Ramsbottom has been forced to remove
from sale money boxes featuring the
head of a black-faced man with his hand
out. Put a penny in his hand, press the
lever and the arm is raised to the mouth
and the penny is swallowed. Also taken
off the shelves were ceramic figures of
gollywogs playing musical instruments.
Such curios would be rightly regarded as
terribly offensive if they were
manufactured in the 21st century when
we have come to realise such objects
come from an age when there was
widespread ignorance about the
suffering experienced by minorities. But
Continued overleaf